The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Friday, January 4, 2013

Report: Iran’s Military Capability “Dramatically” Reduced by Conflict in Syria

by Zach Pontz

Iran’s ability to retaliate for any strike on its nuclear facilities
has been “dramatically” reduced by events in the region, an Israeli
intelligence report has said.

According to a report in Israeli daily Maariv, Israeli diplomats
meeting in Jerusalem were told by Defense Ministry intelligence
officials that the weakening of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has
taken its toll on Iran militarily.

The officials said that neither Syria nor Hezbollah have the
capability to start a war with Israel and would be largely unable to
respond on behalf of Iran in the event of an Israeli strike on Iran’s
nuclear facilities.

Hezbollah would need direct aid from Iran to be capable of fighting
Israel as it did in 2006, the officials said, but Iran was likely not
to do so, because such a move would likely bring the U.S. and Europe
directly into the conflict. Hezbollah recognizes its weakened position,
the officials said, and was unlikely to provoke Israel into a massive
invasion of Lebanon.

Addressing relations with Egypt, the officials believe that Cairo
would reign-in Hamas because the country is broke and can’t alienate the
West, which it is relying on for financial aid.

A senior official in Jerusalem summed things up, saying, “Our
strategic position in the region has greatly improved, both in the
northern region and in the south.”Zach PontzSource: Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.